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Wanstead resident Andy Nutter had no hesitation in volunteering to help the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic

The creation of the NHS in the aftermath of the Second World War was a monumental achievement, and the NHS has grown to be our most treasured national asset.

Today, it employs over a million people and provides a vast range of services to all of us, sending us out healthy when we are young, mending our injuries and curing our illnesses. It is there for us at every stage of our lives.

The NHS now faces its most difficult challenge since its formation, so when the call went out at the end of March for volunteers to help, it was of little surprise that over 700,000 people signed up.

Living close to Whipps Cross Hospital, I wondered if there was an opportunity to help out at the hospital where my three children were born, and where we have been looked after for the last 25 years. A quick online search found their appeal for volunteers to help them deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

I completed an occupational health questionnaire, a DBS check and watched a series of training videos, answering some simple questions on each.

My start date arrived. Bring some ID. After four years of retirement, it felt like one of those long-forgotten first days at a new job. Exciting, with a few nerves thrown in to spice it up.

Myself and five other new volunteers were given a tour of the hospital and an explanation of the types of work we might be asked to do. The welcome was warm and friendly and we were immediately made to feel appreciated.

The aim is to use volunteers to do those tasks which take clinical staff away from providing care. Whether fetching medicine from the pharmacy, equipment from stores, moving documents around the hospital, taking food and drinks to staff, or even doing their personal shopping, we do anything that helps a medical professional to spend more of their time directly treating patients.

Our wellbeing is paramount to the hospital. Whipps, like all hospitals, are experts in keeping people as safe as possible, and I don’t feel any more likely to catch Covid-19 inside the hospital than in a supermarket. I may catch it. I expected to catch it anyway. But if you have anxieties about catching it, then volunteering in a hospital may not be for you.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first week. The people are inspirational; the volunteers, the staff who lead and teach us, the staff we are supporting. They form one enormous team all pulling in the same direction and being supportive of each other at this difficult time.

Why don’t you come and join us?

Artists have always sought isolation to find their muse – but it is very different when isolation is thrust upon you! Woodford Arts Group was set up to keep local artists in touch, and that ethos continues in lockdown, says Julia Brett

A lot of artists have home studios or areas to work in, but some forms of artwork need to be done in professional workshops. Artists, like writers, try to have a schedule, a discipline, although by its very nature, the muse strikes when least expected. It doesn’t keep office hours.

Having recently moved more into printmaking, I regularly book studio time at a printmakers. This is because the techniques I’m using involve a lot of hazardous chemicals and acids. It also gives me access to a large press, but more than that, it also allows me to mix with a small community of other printmakers who share their techniques and enthusiasm. This is, of course, on hold for now. Luckily, I do have a smaller press at home which allows me to continue working. I work on copper and other metals.

The Mersea Oyster Shed shown here is a copper etching with aquatint and was completed before the restrictions were put in place, but I have managed to print a limited edition of prints at home.

Another method of printing, which can be done without a press, is called mono printing. For all those people stuck indoors, this is an easy way to get creative and stave off boredom. It’s something parents can do with children, from the very simple art of potato stamping, which many would remember from school, to the more sophisticated. There are lots of free YouTube videos that show this easy technique.

YouTube is also a great source of free art lessons. Plus, Facebook and Instagram are awash with artists offering free tuition at the moment.

The shutdown has affected many of us in different ways. Woodford Arts Group member Darren Evans had just opened his exhibition at Lopping Hall when it was cancelled. Our own travel-themed exhibition planned for the end of May will no doubt also be cancelled. But hopefully, we will put this exhibition on later in the year. This will take us out of Woodford to all corners of the globe and we have all been continuing with our art in its many forms. In the meantime, we will be putting on a virtual exhibition and will publish details of this nearer the time.

Fellow member John Rowlands is a metal sculptor and has recently finished a piece of work of rugby players in action. He is now working on a large commission in his garden. You can see John in his workshop on our podcast page on our website. These podcasts are a work of art in themselves as Cheryl Gabriel, who was a BBC producer-turned photographer, has used her considerable skills to ‘produce’ us!

Other members of Woodford Arts Group are also still working from home. David Varney continues to work on his resin pieces, which can also be seen on our podcast page.

Many members’ plans have been disrupted, and to quote Ged Rumak: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Ged planned lots of open-air painting at the coast but is now working from sketchbooks. Plein air sessions were something else we as a group planned to do more of this season, especially around Woodford, to get the community involved.

Alison Stenhouse has also been working on a coastal theme of the east coast, while Emma Liebskind has been making use of her garden, pondering natural forms and structures that represent home and places of safety.

All in all, we are keeping in touch and encouraging each other until we can get together again and get our Travellers’ Tales exhibition back on the road.

Residents with any dental concerns during lockdown are invited to contact local dentist Dr Amjad Malik for advice.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, dental practices have been closed by Public Health England, and many patients have been left unable to access dental care. But Dr Amjad Malik of Improve Your Smile is available to take calls and video calls (even if you are not a patient of the Woodford Green practice) if you have any issues with your teeth or need urgent dental advice.

“Many people have contacted us for a video consultation to discuss tooth whitening, teeth straightening, replacing old mercury fillings with white composite and many other concerns they have about their dental health. If you want to know about your options then please call me to arrange a video call from the comfort of your own home,” said Dr Malik.

Call Dr Amjad Malik on 07597 208 432

To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day on 8 May, a new online film exploring Ilford, Wanstead and Woodford during the Second World War has been released.

Researched, written and produced by Redbridge Museum staff, the film (watch below) looks at the outbreak of the war, evacuation of local children, the Home Front, the contribution of local industries, the damage caused to the local area by air raids, victory celebrations and the bittersweet aftermath of the war.

Victory in Europe – VE Day – was declared on 8 May 1945, a day after Germany surrendered. The Prime Minister (and local MP for Woodford) Winston Churchill gave his iconic BBC radio broadcast to the nation announcing the German surrender. The news of Victory in Europe sparked street parties all over Ilford, Wanstead and Woodford.

“In our current challenging times it is poignant to commemorate the hardships of the wartime generation who fought so bravely for the freedoms we take for granted today. Redbridge Museum hopes the film will provide a unique insight into how the war affected the borough and will be both a valuable educational resource and a fitting tribute to local residents. We hope you enjoy the film and will share with friends and family,” said Gareth Morley, Head of Culture & Libraries for Vision RCL which manages the museum.

“I hope you all enjoy Friday’s celebrations. Let’s take time to remember those who risked their lives to protect our freedom and pay our respects to our Armed Forces community, past and present, by sharing two minutes silence on our doorsteps at 11am,” added the Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal.

Redbridge Council’s recycling and green garden waste collections will resume this month.

Fortnightly green garden waste collections will start from Monday 11 May. Weekly household recycling collections will begin from Monday 18 May.

“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the council made the difficult decision to stop separate recycling and green garden waste collections at the end of March to concentrate on household rubbish. This is because there were not enough staff and drivers available to carry out all the collections safely, as many were self-isolating due to the government’s COVID-19 national guidance,” explained a spokesperon.

When the services restart, residents should leave their recycling out on their normal collection days (check your’s here) and can start separating their recycling once again in the black and blue boxes.

Chigwell Road Recycling and Reuse Centre will also reopen from 11 May, but with long queues expected, residents are urged not to make any unnecessary trips to the site.

“While Chigwell Road RRC is reopening, I would urge residents to not make any unnecessary trips to drop off rubbish, unless they absolutely have to. Our refuse crews will be collecting household rubbish, recycling and green garden waste, so please be patient and bear with us as we catch up. We may not be able to take all your green waste or recycling in one go. We will collect as much as we can and take what remains on your next scheduled collection date. You should only visit Chigwell Road RRC if you have waste that may be harmful to your household, such as dangerous DIY materials, or broken items that have sharp edges and could hurt your family or pets,” said the Leader of Redbridge Council, Councillor Jas Athwal.

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is good for the environment and, during these times of isolation, it’s good for the soul as well, says Jennifer Hawkes of Wanstead Climate Action

Grow Your Own, Dig for Victory! These ideas have been around for a long time and have played their part in our shared history. But, as I’m sitting here in self-isolation with the sun streaming through my windows, I’m struck by how much the idea of sowing seeds and growing food at home has to offer us at this point in history when we are facing a climate crisis, a deluge of plastic waste, a global pandemic and extreme isolation.

The simple act of sowing seeds and growing food has its part to play in supporting individuals, communities and society to grow hope in the midst of these crises.

As we face growing levels of carbon emissions, growing your own can reduce the carbon footprint of your fruit plate to almost zero. According to Mike Berners-Lee, in his book How Bad are Bananas, a garden-grown apple has a carbon footprint of zero, compared to 10g of greenhouse gasses caused by one locally grown apple and 150g per apple for those New Zealand apples sold in our local supermarkets. British grown strawberries have less than a tenth of the greenhouse gas emissions of their imported counterparts, and garden-grown strawberries again have none.

Even growing a small amount of your own fruit and veg can reduce your family’s carbon footprint significantly.

Pre-washed and packaged salad bags are a convenience food that has taken over vegetable shelves. Each bag is linked to 3g of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the pollution of our soils and oceans. There is no good way to dispose of plastic bags but we can use less of them! Growing your own lettuce leaves, rocket, herbs and salad is an easy first step into the world of growing your own. And, with each harvest you enjoy, you reduce your plastic footprint.

Growing fruit and vegetables is also good for the soul. In this time of isolation, growing plants provides a routine of tending, watering, harvesting and preparing. It gives individuals and families an opportunity to get outside and enjoy sunshine, exercise and activity. A glut of produce can be shared with neighbours and friends. Conversations can be had at safe distances over allotment boundaries or garden walls.

If you’re tempted to try growing your own for the first time, some easy starter vegetables are salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, courgettes or runner beans. All of these can be grown in containers on a sunny balcony or in a cleared part of a garden.

Give it a go and enjoy the benefits to you, your family and our larger world.

As a part-time Tesco delivery driver, Alex Hanford has found himself escalated to key worker status during the current crisis. And, having only recently moved to South Woodford, has found a community that cares

So much seems to have changed in the last few weeks, and my first thought has to be how inspired I am by the NHS and all the health and care workers who have faced up to this crisis first hand. Things that went on in the background are now at the forefront of our minds.

On a personal level, I have been thrilled to see the groundswell of support generated in our local community. Having only lived in South Woodford for just over a year, I have very few local connections, so the opportunity to reach out online to offer help and engage with neighbours we had never met was invaluable!

My partner and I were put in touch with a lady living in New York, who was concerned about her mum living just over the road from us, and we have been able to help her on a number of occasions, by shopping for essentials and getting to know her (from two metres away, of course!).

As a car owner, I wanted to do what I could to support the NHS, so I registered as a volunteer with them and have already carried out my first couple of assignments for the Redbridge Wellbeing Service, delivering food parcels and collecting prescriptions for local residents.

As my regular role in Central London delivering transport services is now mainly based from home, I have seen my part-time job as a Tesco delivery driver escalate from pocket money for a new car to a key worker role as well! Our whole team in Enfield Customer Fulfilment Centre has been flat-out for weeks, busier than Christmas for weeks on end, with no planning or build-up, keeping shopping moving and vulnerable customers’ supplies delivered.

One of the most touching things for me personally has been the response from Tesco customers; from a young mum with serious underlying health issues who was frankly terrified during the first days of the lockdown, to another lady who had just lost her brother-in-law to COVID-19 and was still thanking me for just doing my job.

As I can’t be with my own mum in Buckinghamshire, or our family in Yorkshire or Cornwall, it really does help me to think that there are other people doing exactly what I have seen in South Woodford, going above and beyond to provide that support and essential services to people around them in need.

It appears we will have to adjust the way we live for some months as society comes to terms with this illness. My hope is that we can continue with some of these adjustments in the longer term, and keep the friendships we are forming under such trying circumstances going as times improve and people feel safer and more secure in themselves.

Nine-year-old Wanstead resident Riku Fryderyk Borowczyk – who is a member of the South Woodford Young Writers Club – has signed a book deal with Pegasus to publish his story The Witching Hour.

“In this story, I want to help children who are afraid of the dark by making them think differently about what might be there that they cannot see,” explained Riku.

“We’re looking forward to the launch of the book in the next few months and seeing The Witching Hour on the shelves of our local bookstores,” said his mum.

Haven House Children’s Hospice has called off many of its fundraising activities for the foreseeable future. Chief Executive Mike Palfreman warns this could have a devastating impact and appeals for support

Nationwide, strict restrictions are now in place to stop the spread of coronavirus. Public gatherings, events and ceremonies have been cancelled and shops and businesses have closed their doors.

Our hospice has now launched an Emergency Fund to help us keep supporting local children and their families who need specialist care.

These are challenging times where no one is immune from the effects of coronavirus. Haven House now faces the possibility that hundreds of seriously ill children and families who depend on the care given by our front-line nurses will stop – threatening our very existence. Every day, children and families need our help, but now more so than ever.

Families tell us we are their lifeline and we cannot let them face this alone. The impact that coronavirus will have on our vulnerable children and families could be devastating. Haven House faces a serious crisis and we need the help of our community.

We welcome the government’s announcement to pledge up to £200m to the UK’s hospice sector.

Haven House is on the front line in providing care for some of the most vulnerable children in our local community. I would like to thank the Chancellor for recognising the vital role we play in supporting the NHS in its fight against COVID-19. Whilst we await details of precisely what this funding will mean to Haven House, we can say that these emergency funds will be essential to keep us going in the short term and enable us to continue providing a lifeline and specialist care to our children and families.

We are determined to play our part and support the NHS at this critical moment, and are doing so through offering both beds and expertise, working closely every day with our NHS colleagues to ensure children at end-of-life and in non-emergency situations but without COVID-19 can be swiftly transferred out of hospital to free up those beds.

The funding is very welcome but does not mean we can become complacent in our appeal for funds. We are projecting a loss in income of around £500,000 in the next three months and the situation beyond then is hugely uncertain for everyone. We are keen to highlight our continued need for support from the community, from whom around 80% of our income traditionally comes through fundraising and our shops.

I would like to thank our supporters who have responded to our call for help over the past weeks. Thank you for holding us in your hearts. This support is so essential and we will continue to need it now and into the future.

Riku Fryderyk is a member of the South Woodford Young Writers Club and has recently signed a publishing contract with Pegasus. Here, the nine-year-old offers their poetic thoughts on lockdown

At the time of writing, it’s been three weeks since my last day of school. The way I see this situation is that it has highlighted a once-in-a-lifetime event, a never-ending holiday. So, you may think, what to do during this holiday when you cannot go out much?

This is a big question mark. While in lockdown, I have had time to work on my book publication, been able to practice skills and work on some things I couldn’t do much because of school. Playing board games with my family (don’t get mixed up with bored games, those are a terrible invention!), cooking, or even playing in the garden, are a great way of spending time at home.

As for me, I now spend Wednesdays with South Woodford Young Writers Club on Zoom, still consuming new skills of writing.

I miss my favourite sausage rolls from Wanstead High Street. However, my mum now has more time and inspiration for cooking. My parents don’t live together (not that I’m making myself Andy from The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson), but due to the lockdown, I get to spend more time with my dad as he is working less. This is very exciting, as it’s not a usual thing for me.

Although there are many positive things to think about, I realise that our world is out of control, that Mother Nature has turned on us and endangered people’s lives. I hear about what’s happening on the radio, although my mum thinks that hearing or watching the news now might not be for my young ears.

In the Young Writers Club, our teacher, Shameem, has given us the splendid task of writing a poem about Earth, and I would like to share my poem with you here:

The tables have been turning
My stomach’s stopped churning
A bad man threw a black cloud
And devastated that town
Mother Nature was tired of us
Now it’s over
There’s not a Range Rover seen
There will be no illness on our Queen
Or us
We’ll stay and pray for the best
And we won’t make a fuss
Let’s enjoy and appreciate
That there’s less littering
Our world’s ecology is quickening
My heart is alive
Full of happiness
It’s a time when people start spending time with each other more
Now our family shall rest
While in the action places
Doctors are on a quest
SAVING LIVES

The Refugee Welcome Wanstead crowdfunder has reached its target of £5,000.

A spokesperson for Wanstead Parish, one of the five member churches of the community sponsorship group, said: “We’re over the moon about reaching our target, especially during this difficult time. Thank you so much to everyone who donated, supported, shared and left kind comments on our crowdfunding page. The support has been incredible. With eight days still to go [as of 1 May], we have now added a stretch target of £6,000. We had a funding shortfall of around £9,000 to make up, so any additional funds raised will go towards reducing that amount even further. As COVID-19 reaches Syria, and refugee camps around the world hunker down, knowing that we will be able to lift one family out of poverty gives us great satisfaction.”

Who are Refugee Welcome Wanstead?

Five churches in the Redbridge and Waltham Forest area: St Mary’s Woodford, Wanstead Parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, St Gabriel’s and St Peter’s-in-the-Forest, have formed  a Community Sponsorship group in order to support and absorb a refugee family into our community.

The Friends of Aldersbrook Riding School was established last month to help support the local stables.

“Our aim is to support the school to help ensure it continues to provide an invaluable facility for our local communities. We will be organising fundraising activities that will enhance the wellbeing of our horses and run activities, talks and social events,” said a spokesperson.

Children are invited to paint a picture of a horse or pony to be displayed at the school, with the best entry receiving a riding voucher.

Visit wnstd.com/fars